The World Flying Disc Federation today released 2012 World Ultimate and Guts Championships : Spirit of the game results (WUGC) held July 7-15 in Sakai, Japan. The following teams were honored for receiving the top scores in their respective divisions: Philippines Open, Canada Women, South Africa Mixed, New Zealand Open Masters, and Germany Women Masters.

As cited in the first section of the WFDF Rules of Ultimate, all players are responsible for administering and adhering to the rules -- also known as Spirit of the Game (SOTG) -- which places responsibility for fair play on every player in this non-contact sport played with a flying disc. As such, Spirit Scores are considered an integral part of the overall competitive success of participating teams.

The objectives of the WFDF Spirit of the Game (SOTG) scoring program are to: (1) educate players on what Spirit of the Game is; (2) help teams to improve specific parts of their Spirit; and (3) celebrate SOTG by awarding a prize to the team that gets the highest score. The Spirit scores are compiled from ratings given by the players on each team to the other team after each game of an event, and ratings are given on a ranking from “0” (poor) to “4” (Excellent). According to the Explanation Sheet which accompanies the WFDF Spirit of the Game Scoring sheet, it is expected that that all teams display normal, good spirit. The baseline score for each of five scoring categories is “Good” which equals 2 points. Points are issued by teams for their opponent after each game in five categories: Rules Knowledge and Use, Fouls and Body Contact, Fair-Mindedness, Positive Attitude and Self-Control, and Our Spirit Compared to Theirs. A final score of 10 is considered Good Spirit, although the SOTG Committee acknowledges that more work is needed to educate teams to score their opponents in the way it is defined by the scoring system to ensure consistency of data.

According to Patrick van der Valk, chair of the WFDF Spirit of the Game Committee, “the goal of the Spirit of the Game Scoring System is to recognize teams that serve as models for the sport, as well to help identify teams that need guidance regarding poor on-field behavior and lack of respect for the rules. WFDF is committed to SOTG as a core component in Ultimate, and we will continue to take efforts to ensure that all players are taking responsibility for fair play.”

In response to concerns voiced regarding unsportsmanlike conduct in certain games at the recent WUGC, WFDF Rules Committee chair Rueben Berg commented that, based on the WFDF Conduct Policy, avenues are available to deal with unsportsmanlike conduct during any WFDF event, if these issues are brought to the attention of the Tournament Rules Group (TRG). The measures available to the TRG include the ability to censure a player or team, adjust a result, order a game to be replayed, or disqualify a player or an entire team from the event if a player or team “exhibits violent, obscene, abusive, disruptive or illegal behavior, cheats, or otherwise attempts to create an unfair advantage for themselves or disadvantages others through circumvention of the rules; or otherwise causes substantial hardship, inconvenience or annoyance to spectators, officials or players.” According to WFDF, a number of teams were contacted during the tournament regarding their Spirit scores but no official complaints were lodged with the TRG during the tournament.

Following the event, WFDF has been communicating with several national associations regarding their teams’ spirit score performance and areas for improvement.

Robert “Nob” Rauch, WFDF President, added that “the WFDF Rules of Ultimate state clearly that Ultimate is a non-contact, self-refereed sport and that no player will intentionally break the rules. While from time to time players in a small percentage of games may fail to adhere to these rules, WFDF will continue to support the position of its members that Ultimate remain self-officiated. Self-refereed games, at all levels, have worked well for more than 40 years and we believe that, with ongoing commitment by the players, this system will continue to showcase Ultimate in the best possible light.”

Latest WFDF Communiques

The World Flying Disc Federation opened the WFDF 2019 European Beach Ultimate Championships, in association with BULA (EBUC 2019), in Portimão, Portugal on Monday, May 6. The premier European event for Beach Ultimate, EBUC 2019 has more than 1,300 athletes from 22 countries competing in more than 400 games over six days.

"WFDF is very excited for this event and, with the development of Beach Ultimate over the past several years, EBUC 2019 will be the largest continental beach tournament in history,” said Karen Cabrera, WFDF’s Beach Ultimate Chair. "The size of the event is a testament to the interest and dedication of players, national member associations, and organizers in this discipline of Flying Disc.

"We look forward to a very successful event in Portugal, and WFDF is already looking forward to the WFDF Asian-Oceanic Beach Ultimate Championships being held in Shirahama, Japan from 13-16 June 2019, our next World Championship of Beach Ultimate in 2021, and our hopeful inclusion in the future ANOC-GAISF World Beach Games in 2021," said Robert "Nob" Rauch, WFDF President.

The World Flying Disc Federation (“WFDF”) is pleased to announce that the Global Association of International Sport Federations (“GAISF”) confirmed that the Flying Disc sport of Freestyle will be on the sports programme of the first edition of the World Urban Games, to be held in Budapest (Hungary) on 13-15 September 2019.

GAISF Director Philippe Gueisbuhler confirmed Freestyle’s place on the competition programme in a letter sent to WFDF Executive Director Volker Bernardi. “We thank you very much for your collaboration and look forward to working together to ensure the first edition of the World Urban Games in Budapest in 2019 is a success,” wrote Gueisbuhler.

The Congress of the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) has approved of an additional Bylaws revision after concluding the vote by electronic means. The unanimous decision approves two additional modifications of the revised WFDF Bylaws that were approved by Congress during their annual meeting on 13 July 2018. The modifications incorporate the concept of “self-officiation” into the WFDF Bylaws and require Congress approval for any changes of the provision, in order to further clarify and promote Spirit of the Game.The proposals had been submitted jointly by the Swiss and Belgian associations.

“The addition to the purpose of WFDF in Article I, section 2 of the Bylaws to include the principle of ‘self-officiation’ in our Bylaws puts an even stronger emphasis on the Spirit of the Game to which WFDF is committed,” explained WFDF President Robert L. “Nob” Rauch.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) has received today the official notification by Paris 2024 that Flying Disc was not selected as an additional sport for the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games.

Paris 2024 Sport Director Jean-Philippe Gatien wrote to WFDF President Rauch that “after careful consideration, the Paris 2024 Executive team has reached a final decision” and that Flying Disc “has not been selected to be put forward to the IOC to become a part of the Olympic Games 2024 sports programme.”

The sports of Surfing, Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, and Breaking were selected by Paris 2024 as additional sports to be put forward to the IOC for approval, as was announced at their Press Conference in Paris this morning.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), the international sports federation recognized by the IOC that is responsible for world governance of flying disc (frisbee) sports, is seeking one or two individuals to serve as an Event Coordinator (50%) and Administrative Coordinator (50%) to support the growth of our expanding organization. The positions contemplate a part-time (50%) consultancy opportunity for each position, although an individual with the right qualifications could be considered for both areas in a full-time consultancy position. The positions are virtual and so the applicant would need to demonstrate access to the office equipment required to perform the job.

The World Flying Disc Federation Board (WFDF) Executive Committee, Board members, Committee and Commission Chairs, Continental Representatives and staff come together for two and a half days of strategic discussions that will set the tone for Flying Disc for years to come.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring together a team of twenty WFDF board and key staffers for intense and productive discussions in New York City at our board meeting and strategic planning session this weekend,” stated WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch. “The WFDF board and staff are located across 12 different countries across global time zones and getting together primarily occurs during our monthly board meetings via a conference call. The 30 hours of meeting time this weekend significantly increases the productivity of discussions, reduces time in making decisions, and improves the work input, while building on the strength and comradeship of the WFDF key heads, making this meeting very important. ”

WFDF’s mission statement “to support and promote the global advancement of disc sports and spirit of the game” will be top of mind in all discussions as the group takes direct input and feedback from key representatives from multiple continents representing all the different Flying Disc Sports: Ultimate, Beach Ultimate, Disc Golf, Freestyle, Guts and Individual Overall Sports.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), in cooperation with the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), is releasing the second edition of the world rankings for disc golf by country. USA remain the top ranked team in the world, followed by Canada, Finland, New Zealand and Estonia.The criteria for ranking countries are a combination of performance at WFDF World Team Disc Golf Championships and the PDGA ratings for top male and female players.

“The second edition of the WFDF World Disc Golf Rankings marks another significant step forward for WFDF members and countries affiliated with PDGA,” said Charlie Mead, the WFDF Disc Golf Committee chair.“As the criteria for ranking becomes known to the wider disc golf-playing world, National Associations are focusing their attention on how to move up the list. The inclusion of more women and juniors in the calculations for some countries has made a positive difference to their position.”

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) has announced the results of its 2018 elections. This comes after the international federation recognized by the IOC for Flying Disc sports had executed a major revamp of its governance structure and Board composition that had been unanimously approved by the WFDF membership in the autumn of 2018. Among other positions, the membership re-elected Robert “Nob“ Rauch as President for an additional two-year term.

“WFDF is excited about the revisions to our governance structure with the expansion of the Board of Directors, bringing in the heads of our Continental associations and formalizing several other ex-officio positions. We are also extremely pleased to have increased the number of women on the Board to seven out of the eighteen members as we continue to pursue gender equality in our goverenance structure as well as in our competitive events,”commented WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch.

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is pleased to announce that it has launched its new wfdf.sport domain name and related portfolio under the “.sport” domain name program initiated and managed by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) to which WFDF belongs as a member.

“In today´s internet world of so many domain names and extensions, WFDF´s use of the wfdf.sport domain will provide much greater visibility and searchability for the Flying Disc community names. Using the strict criteria applied by GAISF enhances the legitimacy and credibility of Flying Disc‘s public communications and makes us a member of the exclusive ‘.sport‘ community,” commented WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch.

The World Flying Disc Federation (“WFDF”) is pleased to announce that its Congress has approved the Flying Disc Associations of Kazakhstan, Malta, Sri Lanka, and U.S. Virgin Islands as its newest Member associations, increasing WFDF’s membership to 84 national member associations.

“WFDF is proud to welcome the four new member associations to the WFDF flying disc family concluding the latest admission process overseen by our Executive Director Volker Bernardi,” commented WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch.